The paper cited is a single case study so it's hard to draw meaningful conclusions. Also, it is basically impossible to establish what role, if any, blood chokes played in the evolution of the patient's symptoms, given that he also clearly was exposed to the 'classical' cause of CTE (repeated blows to the head).
That said, of all of the organs in your body, the brain is one most heavily reliant on uninterrupted, high volume blood flow (and the oxygen that comes with it). The cells of your central nervous system begin to suffer irreversible damage after about ~3-5 minutes of anoxia. This is basically why a 'blood choke' works - even a transient interruption of blood flow is deleterious enough to render you unconscious very quickly.
I doubt that anyone has rigorously studied the cumulative effects of repeated blood chokes over time, so I can't meaningfully endorse or refute the author's conclusions. However, the authors do (correctly) point out that people who survive anoxic brain injury and recover with full function will often have persistent deficits in cognitive ability, memory formation, and executive function, among others. It isn't a huge leap to think that repeated blood chokes, in the long run, are not good for your brain.
I think JodyH has the right idea - minimize the risk to your brain as much as possible. Respect the tap (and your partner) and don't be afraid to tap out early, either. Helmets are a very good idea, too.
You only get one brain, and once it is injured, it never, ever heals. Don't fuck with it. An abundance of caution is absolutely justified.
Indeed.
Last edited by Nephrology; 02-21-2019 at 05:26 PM.